A mailing machine, such as a Pitney Bowes DM1000, may automatically feed a mail piece, seal a flap of the mail piece, imprint postage on the mail piece and stack uniform mail pieces at speeds of up to 260 letters per minute. The mailing machine may handle mail pieces ranging in size from post cards to 10″×13″ flats and up to ¾″ thick, intermixed and in a single stream. Intermixing sizes may reduce a need to sort mail by size.
Some mail machines may comprise an in-line weighing mechanism, such as the Pitney Bowes Weigh-on-the-Way™ (“WOW”) mechanism. The in-line weighing mechanism may weigh each mail piece to ensure that proper postage indicia will be applied. When a mail piece arrives at the in-line weighing mechanism, a weighing signal may indicate that an accurate measurement has been taken and that the mail piece may be advanced for printing of postage indicia. This significantly reduces the time it takes to obtain an accurate weight of the mail piece.
When weighing flats, or mail pieces large enough that a portion of the mail piece is unsupported, the unsupported portions may flutter (i.e. an oscillating motion). This flutter may increase an amount of time required for the weighing signal to indicate that the mail piece has been accurately weighed.